Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.0
Audio		2.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		2.0

Down to Earth Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman August 26, 2022

Down to Earth is neither fresh nor stale. It's a remake of a of a remake based on Henry Segall's stage production Heaven Can Wait (the original movies, by the way, are Here Comes Mr. Jordan and Heaven Can Wait). This version stars Chris Rock as a comic with stage fright who dies unexpectedly and is brought back to Earth in the body of a wealthy businessman. The expected shenanigans follow with much of the humor stemming from the fact that the recently and dearly departed was a young black man now embodied in a middle-aged white man's body. It plays fairly well, for the most part, hardly the classics that are its predecessors, but for a retelling with a spicier, more modern kick it's not half bad.

Lance Barton is a bicycle delivery man by day and a comedian by night. Well, “comedian” is a relative term. He’s mercilessly booed and literally swatted off the stage. He’s actually a pretty funny guy, but he suffers from a severe case from stage fright that drags his performance down. On his way back home from a particularly brutal evening at the Apollo, he is struck by a truck and killed. He finds himself in Heaven, which is sort of like an exclusive night club. However, it turns out that he’s not supposed to be there. He has died decades before he should have and is offered an opportunity to inhabit the body of another man and continue with his life since his body was irreparably destroyed in the accident. He eventually settles on that of Charles Wellington III, one of the wealthiest men in America. Barton tries to continue to be himself in Charles’ body, but his sensibilities, and the new image he’s projecting, do not jive with what the rest of the world expects. While he’s trying to sort out his new life, he does all he can to woo the beautiful Sontee Jenkins (Regina King).

The core plot is not new, of course. What the film tries to do is to give the material something of a cutting-edge vibe and find its humor in the stark contrast between a black comedian and a wealthy white entrepreneur. The dynamic actually does work a good bit of the time, thanks largely to Rock's solid work that sees him hold to character even when inhabiting another man's body. However, the audience sees Rock most of the time, not the man whom he has inhabited, so the impact is dulled somewhat simply by the logistics of keeping Rock's face front and center. It probably would have worked better with a different actor playing Rock rather than Rock playing Rock; the humor is there, and it's effective, but it would have been more effective if the audience saw things the way the world in the film saw things (at least more often than it does). It needed to be more like the body swapping classics of yore (Like Father Like Son, for example) where the actors don't play themselves after the switch but versions of the other person in their own bodies.

However, the film works best in those moments of personality juxtaposition and disconnect. It is often left to the support characters to respond to the oddity of this man suddenly acting like another man since the audience rarely sees the actual inhabited body "being" the Rock character's personality. Most of the rest of the film's story, including the romance, generally falls flat; it's stale and predictable and the film strives to accomplish little in terms of narrative novelty. It is content to simply let Rock be Rock, but because it's Rock being Rock rather than someone else being Rock, the film sinks like a rock far more often than it really reaches to the surface with any kind of creative force behind it.

Down to Earth Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Paramount brings Down to Earth to Blu-ray with a decent-to-, well, a little more-than-decent 1080p transfer. The picture certainly begins inauspiciously with some severe spotting and speckling and other signs of wear in the early going. It does settle into a decently filmic image with good, crisp details, a fairly neutral grain structure, and reasonably deep and accurate colors. The picture usually more than satisfies away from some processing that is readily apparent at times. The image is very flat overall; there's not a lot of depth or dimensionality to it, but when it is on even under these constraints it looks pleasing enough. Colors never find serious punch but do enjoy a fair bit of midgrade stability. Comedy routines are where the most abundant and expressive colors are to be found, but even beyond these scenes the general palette offers agreeable contrast and accuracy. Skin tones look about right, black levels are deep enough, and while whites don't leap off the screen, they are not overly pasty and creamy, either. The picture quality score probably tops out at a 3.5 and holds there for much of the film, but there are some struggles that prevent the high point from dominating the experience.

Down to Earth Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack accompanying Down to Earth is hardly out of this world. The track is straightforward and uninteresting, focusing primarily on basic dialogue with little else in terms of flavor or expansion beyond the front confines on offer. Surround usage is generally negligible at best, as is subwoofer output. The track is not thin, it's just not peppered with any real opportunities for punch and stretch. Music doesn't go very wide, and clarity and fullness are spotty. Even ambient jeers or gasps at various comedy performances lack real engagement or immersion. Dialogue is acceptably clear and is center positioned for the duration. The track is not terrible; it's just very bland and sonically uninteresting. A 2.0 track would have easily sufficed here.

Down to Earth Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of Down to Earth contains two extras. No DVD or digital copies are included with purchase. This release does not ship with a slipcover.

• Down to Earth: A Look Inside (480i, 10:15): Talking about the Warren Beaty film, the film's tone and style, Chris and Paul Weitz's direction, designing Heaven, Rock's performance, support performances, plot elements, and more.
• Theatrical Trailer (480i, window box, 2:27).

Down to Earth Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Down to Earth is a perfectly watchable film, but one can see vast areas for potential improvement. Rock is funny and gives it a good go, but the film would have worked better with another actor actually impersonating him, like the story actually demands. The rest of it is of the take-it-or-leave-it variety. Paramount's Blu-ray offers passable video and audio and a couple of extras. Worth a look.